Artificial grass installation in Maida Vale, London

Tuesday 26 July 2016

Mr Knowles, Maida Vale, London

Certain parts of London artificial grass installations include particular challenges, not least of all, an installation in the centre of Maida Vale. The only access was through a basement, but there was also a huge amount of material to remove from the existing lawn. Having spoken with a number of prospective suppliers, it became clear quite quickly that Wonderlawn had the expertise and enthusiasm to complete the work.

The existing area was a mix of worn out grass and soil and an area of hard paving, none of which the client wanted to retain. Two things that were precious were a children’s play house and the desire to have a small hill created and a new tree planted.

Our solution was to raise the level of the entire area by around 150-200mm and to achieve this we used over 25 tonnes stone and 6 tonnes of crushed granite, all of which needed to be brought in by hand, in buckets. The guy’s were pleased! At the same time we created a small hill at the rear of the garden and installed a drying pole.

Base work is crucial on an artificial grass installation and this is why we do not use sharp sand. The Granite we use is more expensive, but as a result, it allows us to guarantee the base and not just the top layer of grass.

Now that everything is nice and level, we can start installing the grass, or can we? With the length of the garden being nearly 20m, the rolls of grass weigh in at over 250kg. Not only this, but our route in to the garden was tight and difficult. So, on a main road in London, on a breezy summer afternoon, we brought traffic to a halt whilst the sections of grass were rolled out and then folded in such a way that would allow us to move the grass through the basement, around corners and passed a rather expensive kitchen. Once in, we can begin the process of installation.

Artificial grass needs to be joined correctly and where the land is anything other than flat, this is a specialist skill. Fortunately a few hours later we have the seams in, a mound created, a tree planted and some inventive sawing of legs to allow the kid’s play house to be level.

Our next stage is infill, which plays a crucial role in helping the grass lie correctly and ensures that it stands up to regular use. Without it, most artificial grass will flatten quite quickly.

Over two days, the 4 installers had carried 31 tonnes of materials in almost 900 buckets and covered over 30 miles! It’s a remarkable fact but does demonstrate why artificial grass installed correctly, is far from a DIY task!